A female terminal attached to a connector for use in connecting an electric circuit is produced by forming a tubular terminal contact portion serving as a male terminal receiving portion by punching a metal plate of copper, brass or the like and bending the punched metal plate, and a spring piece is provided within the terminal contact portion for receiving a male terminal to be connected (see PTL 1).
In a female terminal 501, as illustrated in FIG. 6A, a tubular male terminal connection portion (a terminal contact portion) 503 includes a bottom plate 505, a spring piece 509 obtained by bending a portion on one side of the bottom plate 505 at a bent portion 507 disposed at one end thereof to be overlaid on the bottom plate 505, a first side plate 511 continuously bent on the other side of the bottom plate 505, a top plate 513 bent continuously to the first side plate 511, and a second side plate 515 bent continuously to the top plate 513. A positioning rib 517 is provided on the base of the spring piece 509, and a notch 519 to be engaged with the positioning rib 517 is formed in the first side plate 511.
In this female terminal 501, the positioning rib 517 provided on the base of the spring piece 509 is engaged with the notch 519 formed in the first side plate 511 for adjusting the position of the spring piece 509, and therefore, even if the position, the inclination and the elastic urging force of the spring piece 509 are shifted from those set up because of distortion or the like of the spring piece 509 caused when, for example, a male terminal receiving portion 521 is formed by bending, the spring piece 509 can be corrected to a properly assembled state.